A mobile with the Amazon logo in front of an image of MGM DADO RUVIC / Reuters
Amazon announced on Wednesday the purchase agreement of the study Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) for 8.450 million dollars (6.910 million euros). With this acquisition, Jeff Bezos' company is making its way into Hollywood with force: its Prime platform will integrate a powerful library of 4,000 titles that include the James Bond and Rocky franchises, as well as 17,000 television programs, including Fargo or The Tale of the Maid. The deal comes shortly after AT&T, owner of Warner, merged content with Discovery, cementing the transformation of the film industry and ushering in the golden age of
streaming
.
"Amazon will help preserve the heritage and catalog of MGM films, and will provide customers with greater access to these existing works," said the statement released early this morning. The technology giant notes that the transaction "would allow MGM to continue doing what they do best: great storytelling."
Amazon already has its own studio, but has failed to outperform the competition.
His series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Fleabag won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, but many of his films have failed to capture audiences at the box office.
The platform does not make public the audience figures for its Prime Video service, so the volume of viewers who will enjoy the new library thanks to the purchase of MGM is unknown.
At least 200 million have access to the video service because they are enrolled in their Prime membership.
The acquisition of one of the pillars of Hollywood is the second most expensive transaction executed by Amazon, behind only the acquisition of the organic supermarket chain Whole Foods in 2017 for almost 14,000 million dollars.
Streaming is burying the film industry that was known until now.
AT&T reached an agreement on May 17 to merge its content division WarnerMedia with rival Discovery, creating a powerhouse that includes HGTV, CNN, Food Network and HBO.
Subscribe here to the
EL PAÍS América
newsletter
and receive all the information keys on the region's current affairs
